Battery chargers, protected and unprotected batteries?

[VenskeArtStudio]

-I just wanted to ask if anyone knew whether or not you can use the same battery charger for unprotected batteries and protected batteries. I just bought the original Hex Copper last week and it's great but it comes with two CR2 3v unprotected batteries and a charger. I also picked up two protected CR2's (because I was a little nervous about the unprotected ones), both sets fit in the charger but I don't want to screw anything up. Any help would be great...

 

[Rakkimaru]

i'm hew here, whats the difference between protected and unprotected?

 

[dormouse]

Read this:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...9007-warning-rechargeable-batteries-mods.html


The caveat (besides that I am no expert) - I think (not sure) think SOME mods MAY have protection built into the mod and MAY claim to use unprotected batteries safely. And SOME chargers supposedly have protection built into the charger to charge unprotected batteries more safely. But in general, unprotected is bad in ecigs because ecigs draw too much power for unprotected ones to be safe. You can get hurt, others can get hurt.

Protected batteries can be a bit longer (they have a circuit board in the end). Trustfire brand in particular, in protected form, may be too long to fit in some chargers or mods. But they fit fine in others.

Exception - AW IMR batteries I believe are technically uprotected but use so-called safe chemistry so if they do vent or fail it will be less dangerous. They hold the voltage up better at 3.7v but the downside is they have shorter charge (less mah). SInce these are unprotected you have to make sure you use a protected charger of a suitable voltage.

I have been using Ultrafire protected batetries and just ordered some AW IMRs.

Note - some batteries have no nipple - the little bump-out on the positive end. The mod boxes I have need that nipple for the battery to connect. So look at the pictures when you buy batteries. They usually show the positive end or both ends.

 

[Baldr]

-I just wanted to ask if anyone knew whether or not you can use the same battery charger for unprotected batteries and protected batteries.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I'm pretty sure you can use the same charger for any of those batteries..

 

[dormouse]

No you cannot. It depends on the charger. Some chargers are like fast chargers and use too many mA to charge unprotected batteries. And some chargers have no protection circuits and will just keep charging and charging and count on the battery's protection circuit to stop charging itself and if the battery doesn't have protection circuits you will have a dangerous situation.

Don't use unprotected batteries. They are meant for flashlights and stuff, not for ecigs.

Better yet - ask the vendor why unprotected batteries were shipped with it and why are they safe in that mod and what charger you can use safely.

 

[VenskeArtStudio]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Guitarded]

What is the physical difference between a protected and unprotected battery? Is is the actual composition of the cells chemically?

 

[Shadow102]

What is the physical difference between a protected and unprotected battery? Is is the actual composition of the cells chemically?

Protected batteries have a small circuit board located within the can (this is why they're a few mm longer than unprotected) that shuts down the battery in over/under voltage situations or in cases where the current draw is too high (short in the system) making them less likely to experience thermalrunaway (become a small incendiary explosive.)

Safe chem batteries, like the IMRs, do not have this circuit but use a different chemical make up to store/discharge the power. Thermalrunaway is only a concern when they are improperly charged (not using a protected charger) or improperly used/stored. However do to their make up they are considered high drain batteries meaning they have a lower capacity (mah) but can produce a more stable voltage over that time, and the discharge rate is high enough for low resistance applications without damaging the batteries.